Faith is Not an Elective

Christmas break has come to an end, and for me, that means back to school. For those of you who are in college or high school, you probably decided at the end of last semester which classes you wanted to take this semester. Some classes are required, some for credits, and some might just be for fun. Regardless of the reason, it’s pretty safe to say that most, if not all of us, are taking some electives in our busy school schedule. Sometimes if it gets too chaotic, we choose to drop an elective, a course that’s not required.

This concept applies to us in our spiritual lives as well. There are lots of different ways that faith manifests itself, just like there are a lot of different classes. The difference is, however, that faith is not an elective. Our faith is not optional. We can’t pick and choose when to believe and when not to. We can’t pull our faith out of a dusty drawer when it’s convenient for us and toss it away when it’s not. Real faith doesn’t work like that. We need our faith to survive in this sin-driven world.

When we push our faith to the back burner, we begin to slide. We might start out saying, “Oh, I’ll just skip my Bible study today and do it tomorrow,” and then, surprise! we don’t do it tomorrow, either, and eventually we completely forget we ever did it in the first place. This should not be the case!

Don’t let go of something so important and vital to your spiritual well-being. Cling to your heavenly Father, trusting Him to direct your path.

When we feel ourselves headed in this downward direction, the best thing to do is to go back to God’s word, not shy away from it. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” When we are lost and can’t see, His word will direct us. He will lead us back to the right path. When we wholly place our trust in Him, we can’t go wrong. He is always there for us, as it is so clearly stated in Matthew 28:20: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Part of faith is trusting even when you don’t understand, even when you’re stumbling along, feeling lost and alone in the dark. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” This path is oftentimes difficult and dark. At times like these it’s important to keep 2 Corinthians 5:7 in mind: “I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see.” The ultimate example of walking by faith and not by sight is looking at our lives full of sin and knowing that God declares us righteous through this faith in the blood and sacrifice of Christ and will eventually lead us home to heaven.

You can choose to drop electives, if you end up not liking them. But faith is not an elective. Don’t let go of something so important and vital to your spiritual well-being. Cling to your heavenly Father, trusting Him to direct your path. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Pastor Ben Libby joins Pastor Sam Rodebaugh to study the Old Testament book of the Prophet Haggai. Haggai had the changeling task of prophesying to the people of Judah who had just come back from the exile in Babylon. He was sent with the job of taking these people to task over their attitude of apathy and […]